Happy and DON’T Know it?

I can’t remember her name, but I can tell you she was not a happy person.  

I arrived for a class reunion on a hot, hazy, and humid Virginia day. As I stepped toward the check-in table, a friend of more than thirty years locked eyes with me, broke into tears, and screamed—

“Oh, Scott… can you help me?” 

Next, she bolted out of her seat, ran around the table, and hugged me… and hugged me… and hugged me… and hugged me.  

This is not the first time this has happened, and as a professional, I knew what I would say, “Of course I’ll help. Just let me get settled.“ 

Frankly, I was buying time to figure out why somebody I have never known not to be happy was acting unhappy. 

What had changed?

Nothing.

My friend found herself a full-fledged member of The Always Club, as in “I always wanted to be thin and in shape… I always wanted to find my purpose in life… I always wanted to make more money… I always…

I was a member of The Always Club, along with about a gazillion other folks trying to figure out life’s secrets. Who knew it would take most of us thirty years of post-high school living to realize we’d never done what we had always wanted to do? 

If that sounds familiar, it’s not your fault, and it’s more common than the common cold. But unlike the common cold, you can’t wait seven days for it to go away, or you’ll remain a member of The Always Club for the rest of your life.  

So what did I say to my friend?

“What you have always wanted is not something you have been denied. It hasn’t disappeared or passed you by; somebody else didn’t take it. You have been living happily, and nothing is wrong with that. Remember, your “always wanted” is alive and well, living in your future, just waiting for you to go after it.”

And she hugged me… and hugged me… and hugged me.

So what are you waiting for?

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